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04/18/2011

We had a lovely weekend, sleeping in late, working with dogs, reading newly thrifted books and dreaming of the farm as we made our weekly drive-by, and drooled over the space that we will hopefully quite soon be able to plant our feet on. We visited the Mounts Botanical Garden plant sale, where we brought home a chocolate mint, horehound, vanilla grass (ever heard of it?) and a well loved peach tree that we just can't wait to put in the ground.

But in this very moment, I am: Adoring Dane's scuffed knee remedy (polka dot leg warmers), Praying for rain in this time of drought, Loving the company that my mother-in-law gives me while she stays with us, Thankful that I am able to stay home with Dane especially after a sleepless night, Enjoying the sound of the ocean breeze whispering through the palm tree, Patiently waiting on a pot of dried beans soaking for this evenings meal

04/16/2011

Megan has been working her magic here lately, and thank goodness for that! It has been a long time since i have Had time to sit and think, must less write my thoughts, but busy is a blessed thing.

Watching your baby daughter grow a child is amazing, being part of it is even more amazing. I never could have known the joy one can get from simple things like being asked to be a horse, or being told "I hungry"..."Eat!". No one can explain the joy of conversation about the moon, trees, pretty lights and butterfly statues while on our evening walk and when they ask you to sing a particular song for bedtime, that is a thing of beauty to rival the ocean.

We have been busy. Dogs, more dogs and more dogs still. It has been a non-stop rotation of boarding, grooming, training, dog park days, walk and baths. It has been an amazing year for us in the press as well, garnering more attention and stories than one could ever dream of or hope for. We were, this week, recognized by the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce as the "Best New Business" in Palm Beach, and received an award of a engraved crystal Tiffany bowl, accepted in front of 300 plus people with my beautiful family standing with me and friends, family and supporters in the audience. We were first at the podium, and that was a little awkward for me, but we made it through. Its hard to imagine that 5 years ago we were starting to walk dogs for a living. The store has been a wonderful adventure for us as a family. Learning, growing and changing to meet the needs of the people and their pets, it is a multi-taskers dream life.

We are still waiting to get our farm, which is tedious to say the least. But we do have wonderful accomadations in the mean time, and have been thankful to a degree that we don't have the farm yet. There is no way we would have had the time to work on it, fix up and equip it with our latest schedules. No way. So hopefully with season coming to an end, we may free up some time to invest it into the property once we get it. We should have an answer by next week.

My brother and his wonderful wife are moving here, too. In June. This is a blessing that could happen tomorrow and it would not be soon enough for us! A) to have more family here and B) to bring them into the family business. I really am hoping William loves to work with the dogs as much as we think he will, and that his natural ability with dogs really shines through. I have wanted him to work with us since we started this crazy ride, and now it is happening. I can't imagine a better addition to Onblonde and the Martin Florida family than those two. Rose, his wife, is an amazing photographer, and there is almost no better place to be than South Florida for a person with her talent and eye for beauty. For now, that's about it. A short recap from me, more to come soon! - Mike

04/15/2011

We've had an incredible week. Great press on the business front and an exciting feature on one of our favorite design blogs : Design Sponge - which can be found here . It really got me into the spirit of decorating and planning Dane's new room, which was total kismet as we recieved news on the farmhouse last night. By the end of next week, we can expect to have a closing date!

This week was packed full of suprises - we were able to witness our own progress, and that had me thinking about the random and unexpected ways that your goals may be reached. My mother-in-law handed me this great example from her own experiences: She has a horse named Pixie. Pixie does not walk through water or over rocks. As she rode Pixie, she found that the trick to crossing a rock, was to walk Pixie over it, but backwards. Things may not play out in the way or order that you see them, but if you can keep your eye on the ball, it just may end up in your hands - even if it was a curve ball.

04/13/2011

I do remember looking at the moon through my grandfathers telescope, and wondering if other children in the world were doing the same thing.

Now we have a day to night rhythm that always includes a celebration of the moon and stars show. Without the moon, I suppose night is no fun at all. Darkness without wonder and glow...glitter even. Its a party in my mind and I try my best to serve that way of thinking to Dane. Our transition to bedtime is not "let's go to sleep", it's more like "let's go visit with the moon" We can count the stars and see what kind of shape the moon will be tonight. After all, doesn't the moon always provide you with perspective you need at the end of the day? The reminding of just how small and random we are - and the supreme connection of spirit and nature just can't be denied.

I can't imagine a better way to spend an evening, than looking up to all the possibilities.

04/11/2011

" I fell up!" ﻿That's what our Dane says. And I know just the feeling. It seems that spring and summer arrived together this year, holding hands - warm and full of life. WIth every new word Dane speaks, we stumble on a new idea or direction. You could say that this is a leap year for us, a huge jump with every amount of faith and belief to back it up.

02/19/2011

Mama speaks tonight because Daddy is busy - busy working with dogs, helping people and right now...busy walking our sweet Dane in her stroller. Forgive me for writing in tongues tonight, but I have a flow of words just at my lips and through my fingertips that say: don't wake me up from this dream i'm living in. Its a dream where I see an entire sink full of dishes and I simply smile at the crossed forks and knives sleeping on dirty plates because it was a meal that we all shared together.

What is life without family? I dont know - but I can recall a time where I searched high and low and now? The answers are never far. The guidance is always near, like a hand holding that doesnt have to let go. Tonight there are seven dogs in this home, two lovers and one happy child. This is good.

02/04/2011

Home is where your child is leaving books and toys scattered about and la-la-la-ing in the closet to the dogs.

Here we are in our temporary home and feeling really...content. There is a certain pleasure I have come to realize from a situation that leaves me hanging. That's all of life really, but this one is sort of an adventure that I enjoy watching unfold. And perhaps those new wedding bands we revised to say "FAITH" on the inside, has been wearing on me. It's a mantra that I tend to go by more and more. Since we've been here in West Palm, I've been all about nesting and creating too.There's just something to the colorful paint on these spanish stucco homes that is bringing out all sorts of flavor in the kitchen. While packing up our things, I re-discovered a hand-me-down juicer that has a great spot on the kitchen counter now. Papaya, mango, carrots, beets, pineapple...that's the good stuff pumping through our system nearly everyday.

Speaking of hand-me-downs, we are starting Dane's Hope Chest. It begins with my first quilt whom we have affectionately named "lovey". If you could have built your own Hope Chest during your childhood, what contents wouold you have picked to recieve upon marriage?

01/29/2011

It is Saturday, and honestly, it is the first time I have had time to sit and write since my last post, (what was my last post?) which shoud mean I have a lot to write so lets see what comes out.

This past weekend we moved. Yes, we packed our house, soon to be "our old house", and moved to "The Big City". West Palm Beach. Not really a big city to most, but when you are trying to go the opposite direction, West Palm Beach seems like Miami. We packed our belongings into two 27 foot truck loads. From bedrooms to garage, it all went in.

My dad helped me move while mom helped Megan watch Dane. Thankfully they were here to help, otherwise I don't know how we would have done it. Dane seemed pretty un-phased by the whole process. Auto however does NOT enjoy change. While we packed he became needy. Poor fellow. He looks so tough, but really he is a softy.

So, we packed the truck twice, unloaded into our new trasition home, which is very, very nice. We have a pool, nice decor and great friends letting us stay there. The interesting part is that: when we moved into the house we had between 4 and 8 dogs. When we moved out we had 9. Luckily on moving day we got down to 4, then three by Monday. We might be a little crazy, but our life changes are not our clients concerns (although they are all very intersted in what we are doing!). Dad and I did most of the heavy stuff, Jonny came to help, too, and I think Dad and I were ready to be done moving for a while. We left some stuff at the old house, including the 54 Ford (Mary) and did not return till yesterday to get the remaining. Drove Mary home, which once we worked out a cooling problem, was very relaxing. For me there is not much nicer than a simple cruise in an old car. The smell, the looseness of the ride, the comfort of the seat and the firm steering wheel gives me a sense of "all is right".

We have made a nice time of our week in the temp house. Not that it is hard, the house and yard and neighborhood is stunning. The pool emits that blue pool water light at night, and the lights are all dimmable (if you know us, you know that dimmable lights are mandatory!). THe neighborhood and house almost make us want to live in town, in the hustle of the town. Almost. We are enjoying the life though. It is a vacation from home concerns, repairs, our normal life and it makes us appreciate how far we have some. It is similiar to how it felt when we first moved to West Palm some 5 years ago.

5 years. Wow. No kidding. A lot has happened in 5 years. I could never have imagined, dreamed or hoped for so much positive change. There is a point in life, at least ours, that everything changed. The point you realize you, and only you, are in control of your life. I have had a few of those moments I suppose. When I climbed into the back of Eric's Toyota Corolla when I was 18 and watched the snow fall as we drove out of town at 2am on Novemeber 7th, 1993. When I moved to Florida, it was a similar feeling.

01/17/2011

Friday morning Dane awoke with me, as she often does now, to help me get my day going. I mean, who doesn't need the help of little hands making coffee, feeding dogs, taking a shower and getting ones socks on? It is amazingly cute to have a little shadow running around, talking 100 miles an hour. As you can imagine, we are in the process of packing (actually MEGAN is packing), and there are lots of boxes. But he house is still clean as ever. Meaning: there is nothing on the floor that should not be. Except, Friday morning that is, a small remote battery, Seems I knocked the remote over in the night and the battery came out. I saw this battery but thought little of it. Dane has never been much of a "mouthy" baby in comparison to most kids I see. She investigates, and then, puts things either a) in my hand or b) back where she found it or where it should go. Well, I guess as she trailed me into the shower, she spotted the battery. So, move ahead 30 minutes, Megan is up, I'm driving to work: Megan calls me and states Dane is acting odd...tired, and pointed at her belly telling Megan her tummy hurts and crying. Not really standard fair for "the Worlds Toughest Kid". Megan calls me and says to come home. I of course, in my infinite wisdom, gripe about it but turn around. The moment I see them I know something is amiss, for Dane is laying on her tummy letting Megan wipe her with a damp cloth and when I put her on the couch she lays down as to go sleep. For some reason, I think "crap...where’s that battery?" Nowhere to be found. At this point, I rather NOT calmly grab her and we install her into her seat in the car and off we go! And I mean "GO!". We arrive at the hospital and the nurses ask us 1000 questions, and don't know how we can know its a battery if we didn't see her eat it. Well, I tell them, we have a clean house, hard to miss something missing when you know what’s on the floor! We call my Mom and Dad and they fly into action, go to the house and "CSI" it...everything out, looked though...no battery. Dad, having had 6 of us is a little less worried, mom holds it together well, too.

Ahh, X-Raying a baby is fun, naked but a diaper, Dane lays on the bed and, thankfully is very curious. The big machine above her had neat red laser lights and a bright light, so that entertained her enough for the main X-Ray. As soon as the Tech put the X-Ray, there it was, a perfect rectangle, 1inch by 3/8 inch, in her little belly. Our heart sank and tears rose. Its hard to imagine your little daughter with something filled with acid inside her.

Well, 4 hours, a lot of stress and many great nurses later Dane gets put under and the battery comes out. Thank god we did, too. Seems she had tried to use it as a teething toy before swallowing it! She is now as good as new, loves the pudding and Jell-O and rice they told us to feed her and I think liked all the attention!

Sunday, we went to the fair! Oh what an opposite from the hospital! Animals galore! Sheep, goats, horses, cattle, chickens, emu, rabbits and more! Indian dancers, old time villages, a parade and tractors! Wow! I think we had more fun than Dane! The highlight of the animals was the calving! They have a section of pregnant cows, so people might see a birth, and we did! One dairy cow was working hard to get a calf out, and we all watched. Probably 100 people all staring! Talk about stage fright! She was having issue though, this was a HUGE calf! After 30 + minutes the cowboys put the ropes on the calf's hooves and went to pulling! The crowd reaction to the sound was priceless! Moaning, children crying, parents squeamish...I thought "about time they pulled it." Well, Megan had a front row position and when the calf plopped out and shook a little, she got covered in cow juice...haha! Sorry, but it is funny, and she didn't mind. Dane was asleep during all this, but she wouldn't have appreciated it anyways! We met some great goat people, and Megan saw her goat lady there (she was showing her goats, she is not a Goat-Lady, although at the fair nothing is impossible!). Really reinforced my want of our farm and our want to raise our own and to bring Dane up in that life. We watched the barrel-racing horses, and the amazing young girls working those animals...maybe we will have a horse, for watching those girls ride made me want Dane to have that experience of working a huge animal and testing herself. I tip my hat to those girls.

Dad and I had the most fun though. Its funny, I have more fun with my dad as an adult at the fair than ever as a kid...might be because I have my own money though! We rode the rides that we could "control" and spin the most. Apparently our spinning made the crowd laugh, cause they all smiled at us as we exited the rides. Must be funny seeing to adult men work so hard to get a 360 out of a fair ride! Need a workout, go to the fair and ride rides! We had a ball, ate corn dogs, drank beer, ate more food and walked around. Mom and I rode the BIG Ferris wheel. The double jobby that feels slow, until its spins complete...then its a rush! Mom handled herself very well and we had a ball! Megan trust those rides about as far as she could throw one, so no rides for her! That's fine, means more tickets for me and dad!

All in all, we had a great, great weekend! Lots of excitement, for better or worse, and in the end, it was all perfect. Just like Dane and my family.

01/06/2011

I'm not ready to take down the tree. In fact, I am still decorating it with glittery memorabilia from the year past..not so long ago.

Dear 2010,

I am incredibly humble to you - for you gave me gifts that a million thank you notes could not express. You seemingly cleared paths for my family and plenty of signs to follow. You gave me rain for my green beans and sun that turned my daughters hair gold. 2010 was all about not being afraid to change one bit....romanticizing of simpler times....listening to children's music...and finding a perfect seat for ourselves in a church. In 2010, we found the moon, which I had never really seen before. I will always keep you in my heart 2010, as a reminder of what love can do to a human - that beating drum of desire and the opportunity to share it with another.